More and more, trolls and haters attack female journalists

When the tantalizing concept of an “information superhighway” first appeared in 1993, it was held out as rivaling the railroads and airlines in revolutionizing and connecting the world. In many ways, it has, creating previously unimaginable opportunities for journalists to have their work reach a global audience. But a report published Feb. 14 by the International Center for Journalists shows in graphic terms that the internet also created dark alleys of hate, misogyny and violence aimed at female journalists.

The ICFJ report details two case studies involving online threats against Rana Ayyub, a Post Opinions contributor and courageous investigative journalist in India, and Ghada Oueiss, a no-nonsense Al Jazeera Arabic anchor. The studies, carried out by the center’s research team in cooperation with computer scientists at the University of Sheffield, examined about 13 million tweets involving Ms. Ayyub that were sent between Dec. 12, 2019, and March 1, 2022, and more than 150,000 tweets involving Ms. Oueiss sent between Sept. 3, 2021, and March 1, 2022, as well as other disturbing evidence.